DC Studios is already heading towards a team-up movie, with several DCU movies and TV shows serving as setup for the 2027 super-powered blockbuster. James Gunn's interconnected DC universe is already off to the races, making its proper big screen debut earlier this summer in the David Corenswet-led Superman.
Quickly after Superman's release (and even a bit before), conversation turned to the idea of a sequel, as DC and Warner Bros. aim to capitalize on the positive momentum coming out of Gunn's DCU debut film. After Superman, Gunn was clearly working on something related to the Man of Steel; however, he refused to call it a straight-up sequel to his 2025 superhero epic.
Finally, in early September, the nature of this project was revealed to the world. Dubbed Superman: Man of Tomorrow (or just Man of Tomorrow), the Superman sequel has been branded as the DCU's first team-up movie with Corenswet's Boy in Blue joining forces with the villainous Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) to take on a common threat.
Man of Tomorrow will hit theaters on July 9, 2027, and is said to include elements from several DCU titles leading up to its release, whether characters, narrative elements, or overall world stakes from these other DC Studios projects.
Every DCU Movie and TV Show Setting Up Man of Tomorrow
Superman
Of course, James Gunn's 2027 Superman sequel will use this year's Superman as one of its primary narrative building blocks.
Gunn's 2025 DCU blockbuster not only introduced the world to a new take on the iconic Man of Steel (David Corenswet) and his sworn enemy Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), but it also set the very foundation from which DCU movies will build upon for years to come.
Man of Tomorrow will be a direct follow-up of Superman, following Corenswet's ultra-powerful metahuman as he grapples with whatever threatens the people of Earth next. This sequel will put a unique twist on the story set up in the first Superman film, as Supes is said to have to team up with Lex rather than fighting against him.
Peacemaker S2
Peacemaker Season 2, which is ongoing on HBO Max, has been described by director James Gunn as a true sequel to Superman and a prequel to Man of Tomorrow.
Shortly after the 2027 DCU team-up movie's official announcement, Gunn posited online that Peacemaker "directly" sets up Man of Tomorrow, and lays the foundation for the rest of the DCU going forward. What this means remains to be seen, but it likely indicates that the show's final few episodes will include some significant events that will pave the way to the super-powered sequel.
Gunn has also called the series a "direct sequel" to Superman, once again proving that whatever happens in its streaming story is just as important to the greater DCU as the epic events of Superman itself.
Lanterns
After Peacemaker, HBO's Lanterns is the next DCU TV series on the way. Starring Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre as a pair of Green Lanterns put on the case after a series of murders in America's heartland, the gritty superhero crime drama will open up DCU audiences to the world of the Green Lantern Corps.
Hal Jordan (Chandler) and John Stewart (Pierre) have been members of the Justice League on the comics page over the years; it would make sense that Lanterns pave the way to Man of Tomorrow, as the movie could introduce a couple more JL members.
This feels especially prevalent as Pierre has seemingly been teased to make his DCU big screen debut in the 2027 film, joining his character's on-screen romantic interest, Hawkgirl, in the Hall of Justice.
Supergirl
Next summer, Supergirl will ride the momentum of Superman and take fans on yet another DC adventure starring one of the brand's best-known Kryptonians.
Based on Tom King's beloved Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow comic run, Supergirl has been described as the next entry into what Gunn calls the Superman Saga—a series of stories centered on or adjacent to the Man of Steel in the DCU.
The movie, which follows Milly Alcock's Kara Zor-El on a self-destructive revenge quest across the universe, will be the last Superman Saga entry before Man of Tomorrow. This means it will be the last chance for Gunn and co. to do some narrative table-setting before Superman 2 comes to theaters in 2027.
